I Surrender
by Wingless Night
Summary: Sasuke knows barely anything about Naruto. When he sees Naruto cry – the Naruto behind the mask – he finds that he wants to know more. BIRTHDAY FIC. SASUNARUSASU


**Disclaimer**: Don't own Naruto, never will – but I want a plushie TT

**Warnings**: Shonen ai… if your homophobic, leave, now… because guess what, I'm not a homophobe! In fact, I'm a proud bisexual! BWA! I believe firmly in equal opportunity for all! (Dee says that in FAKE). There is a bit of OOCness… but screw off…. this is _fanon_! OOCness in fanfiction is basically part of my job.

**Pairings**: SasuNaruSasu

**Summary**: Sasuke knows barely anything about Naruto. When he sees Naruto cry – the Naruto behind the mask – he finds that he wants to know more.

_Notes from the Author: Yeah, I know that I'm posting this birthday fic two days early. There's actually a reason for that. I'm going out of state in about a half hour and I won't be coming back 'til MONDAY, which is after his birthday… and I won't be able to access a computer while I'm away, so y'all get this two days early. Enjoy._

**I Surrender**

The sun rose slowly on the horizon, basking the entire village of Konohagakure in its warming rays. In the field that was usually held for festivals, there was indeed set up for a yearly festival: one that had gone on for sixteen years. It was considered unlucky for anyone who was born on this day. Those that were born on this day, with the exception of one, felt ashamed to have it as their birth date. They felt as though someone had cheated them out of a lucky life. However, these children were forgiven, as it was not their fault that they had been born on _this_ day. In fact, they all considered to blame it on the child that was not ashamed.

It was once again _that_ festival. Waking up in his bed, to the gentle twittering of birds outside and the sunlight playing softly across his features, a boy of sixteen – for today was his sixteenth birthday – sat up in bed, yawning. It took him a few minutes before he could identify _why_ he felt… a little strange… on this day. He shrugged off this feeling as he went into his kitchen.

Now the boy was no longer an obnoxious child that everyone used to know him as. The chubby cheeks had given way, as did the baby fat that had once clung to his form. He was slender, finely toned, and had a muscled frame. Although he was still a few inches shorter than average for his age, the boy didn't mind. He was used to it. No longer did he think of it as a weakness. Instead, he had found ways to manipulate it into strength.

Spiky blonde locks that naturally pointed in every general direction adorned the adolescent's head, the bangs hanging slightly over the drowsy blue eyes that would resemble the sky outside. His skin was nicely tanned, and the whiskers were still marked on his cheeks, three on either side of his nose. He liked them, truth be told.

After all, no one _else_ could boast that they had been born with whiskers. Well, it was just one of those things that the boy couldn't change, so he just accepted it. After all, there were a lot of things that he couldn't change.

Like today.

Today was the Annual Celebration for the Defeat of the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

So of course everyone would be gallivanting through the crowded festival grounds, seeing what was on sale, what there was to get for friends, what was too expensive, what was so cute… in other words, everyone would be having fun.

Except for him.

Because today was much more important to him that some old screwed up festival.

Today was October 10th.

Today was Uzumaki Naruto's birthday.

Sighing slowly, the blonde checked the calendar at least three times to make _sure_ that today was his day of Hell. No… he didn't have a birthday – he had a Torture-Fest instead. It wasn't fun. Every year… everyone would try to kill him the moment he stepped outside of his doorway. Every fucking year.

Naruto wandered into his bathroom. He braced his hands on the sink, leaning over to look into the mirror. He had suddenly felt nauseas. He didn't know why. Looking at himself, he shook his head.

_Dammit, I can't be this coward! This coward standing here isn't me, _Naruto screamed at himself, shutting his eyes.

A low hiss snaked from the back of his mind. Naruto didn't know whether it was Kyuubi or just some kind of voice in his head, but he hated this voice.

_And if you are not the coward that's right here, then where is little Naruto-chan? Where has he gone? Will everyone laugh and be merry when they see that he's here no more, or will they boo-hoo for the dear blonde boy, lost so far._

Naruto, as usual, didn't know exactly why the voice was a singsong voice and why it confused him with riddles, but he didn't care. He was too busy to care.

After all, he was gripping his head, screaming at the top of his lungs, trying to get the voice to go away. Finally, Naruto's fist slammed into the mirror. The pain that shot up his arm brought him back to his senses and the voice vanished. Naruto shook his head.

He was going mental.

That was the only explanation.

Soon, the poor blonde would be in a straightjacket.

He shuddered at the idea of being trapped. That was the one thing that Naruto could not handle – ever. It was being trapped. In small spaces… and not able to move.

Naruto felt sweat break out from even thinking it. In order to distract himself, the boy cleaned and bandaged his arm and then got dressed.

He looked at the cracked mirror again with a cruel smirk at his lips.

What people thought he was – that was all a lie! Sure, some of his personality was branded into the mask he placed over his face every day, but not the traits that he treasured about himself – the traits he _knew _people would hate him more for. Naruto didn't want that.

But hearing the shouts of joy at the Kyuubi's "death," Naruto felt like the villagers deserved, for one day, to see who he really was. If he got arrested for something he did today, Naruto knew that he'd probably be sent to jail.

It wasn't like he cared.

Jail food was probably better than this shit called ramen. Naruto _hated_ ramen more than anything else in the world. He hated the smell, the taste and the texture. The only reason he ate it…? Well, that would be because it was cheap. Naruto didn't have many funds, having to pay rent, electricity, water, and heating bills along with taxes. Hell, he was barely left over with a sum big enough for him to get food for a week.

Lately, Naruto had had to cut down on meals. Only two a day. No more was he eating three… he couldn't afford to live that good.

Yet Naruto _wasn't_ going to ask anyone for help. Knowing them, they would all laugh at him anyway. Say it was his own damn fault. Naruto felt his mood darken. His eyes narrowed and he actually found himself entranced with what he was looking at.

It was his reflection, but it was shattered because off all the broken pieces in the glass from Naruto's previous punch.

"Well, at least now I know how to look like me," he said in a semi-light mood. Walking back to his room, he decided to actually wear clothes that matched his mood for the first time. Slowly, he opened the bottom drawer of his dresser, staring at the piles of gothic clothing he had crammed in this drawer. Yeah… this was back from his "shoplifting" days. He kind of planned ahead. If he didn't like when he was older, then he could always pawn it for extra cash.

Naruto snickered.

He had never been caught during those days.

It made him feel… almost happy at that knowledge. It showed how good the villagers were about tracking down criminals. So, Naruto slipped on a long-sleeve fishnet shirt. Over it when a black, sleeveless, zip-up shirt/vest thing. He pulled on baggy black UFOs and then went under his bed for those bracelets he had… errr… used his special "five-finger-discount" on.

As soon as he fastened the silver bangles around his wrist and grinned at nothing with that evil grin that anyone would get if they were going to scare the shit out of everyone in town. He slipped his kunai holster into the inside of one of his pockets so that it looked like he was defenseless.

It would be their mistake, not his – self-defense always worked.

Naruto left his apartment with a cold gleam in his eyes.

* * *

Naruto was almost disappointed that no one recognized him. He was angry, angrier than he had ever been. It was his supposedly "sweet sixteenth" and yet no one – not one of his so-called friends actually gave a damn. 

It hurt him.

It made him angry

It made him want to tear the world apart – piece by piece.

He stomped through the streets, sapphire eyes narrowed and angry. He really hated everyone on days like this – on days when everything should be about him – but wasn't.

He could remember Sakura crowing over her birthday. She had pretty much _made_ him get her a present. He even remembered that Sakura had hosted a huge birthday party for Sasuke, despite the fact that the Uchiha hated it – it was still recognition.

Naruto wandered down the street. It was a brisk morning, so he was glad that he had worn black. The black soaked in the warmth the sun let off before allowing him to keep warm. He snickered softly when he heard a few people complaining about the cold. Turning, he saw that it was a few girls around his age that had short skirts on.

_Morons_, he thought to himself. Naruto knew something about himself, so he was allowed to call girls morons and not at all stare when the brief gust of wind picks up their skirts and give you a very nice view of a beautifully decorated thong. See, Naruto wasn't into that. He had known for about four years now that girls just didn't _do_ anything for him.

He was gay.

He didn't care.

He didn't care if people knew, suspected or didn't know. He just lived his life the way that he could. Sighing, Naruto finally arrived at the park where the festival was taking place. He glared around him, making a very nice bubble around him. In fact, he could guess that it was about a radius of five feet… whoo! That meant a ten foot diameter!

The Uzumaki was definitely proud of himself. In his normal outfit, they would crowd him, trying to jostle his steps and make him fall or drop whatever he was carrying.

He looked around, wondering what the hell he was going to do now that he was here. He didn't really see anything that interested him, but that didn't mind him all that much. He would just figure out ways to get free rides.

No way was he paying five dollars for a ride on the damn ferris wheel.

Instead, the ninja jumped on the back of the adjacent roof and flipped onto one of the cars. He saw that the car above him was empty, so he leapt into the green compartment, content at just staring out the window. He knew that he had been undetected in his trick.

So why did he feel eyes on him? Naruto scanned the perimeter. There.

In the cab that he had used as a balancing point before coming into this once was Uchiha Sasuke.

Seated with none other than Haruno Sakura.

However, Sasuke was not concentrating on the pink-haired girl in front of him. He was staring _behind_ Sakura at Naruto. Naruto looked back coolly. He didn't feel like getting riled up from the Uchiha today. Instead, he thought that maybe he should interpret Sasuke's "Look-at-me-I'm-a-cool-bastard" routine.

_Well, _Naruto thought to himself. _That might actually brighten up my day a little bit. Damn, this sucks. I'm getting off… ferris wheels are boring._

Naruto flipped onto the roof, landing perfectly balanced on the top of his blue car. He looked up, where he saw Sasuke looking out of the green cart that was behind his. With a smirk on his face, Naruto flipped backwards, not even bothering to see where he would land. For added thrill, the blonde even closed his eyes on the way down.

It made the rush that much better.

He growled curses when he landed on a patch of grass that no one was standing on. He really wanted to flatten at least one person. Sighing, he didn't open his eyes as he regained his bearings. What to do next? What should he do?

There was a soft thump of someone else landing on the patch of grass near him. Opening his sapphire blue eyes, he regarded the Uchiha that was next to him coolly.

"Naruto," the Uchiha began to say.

Naruto, feeling a great resentment towards Sasuke for some reason he couldn't explain, just turned his back and began to walk off.

He wasn't really surprised when Sasuke grabbed his shoulder to prevent him from going anywhere.

"Dobe, what the hell is up with you today?"

Naruto turned. His eyes – usually brimming with laughter and mischief – were as cold as ice and as hard as rock.

"Nothing," he said in a cheerful tone, one that didn't match the cold look on his face.

"There's something wrong with you, Naruto – what is it?" Sasuke persisted.

A smirk formed at Naruto's lips before he spoke. "Ever thought, that maybe there was something _right_ with me for once."

While Sasuke was still trying to figure out what Naruto was saying, the blonde had vanished.

The raven-haired genin swore colorfully as he chased after Naruto. Why the hell was bugging his rival? Sasuke snarled to himself as he chased Naruto, hoping that once he found the boy, he would understand why Naruto had changed… why Naruto was no longer Naruto.

Then a thought hit him.

Could people actually change in the matter of only one day?

Either way, Sasuke realized as he saw Naruto in the distance, he was about to find out. Upping his speed to the fact that his muscles were screaming and he probably wouldn't be able to run for a few days after this, Sasuke hurtled after Naruto.

The blonde, suddenly stopped, as though something were bothering him. He was clutching his stomach. Sasuke had never seen these antics from the blond. He had of course, seen the blonde clutch his stomach when he wanted ramen, but he wasn't sure what this meant.

Naruto's eyes were squeezed tightly together and his arms were wrapped around his stomach. When Sasuke had first noticed the blonde had stopped, Naruto had been doubled over. Now Naruto was on the ground, his stomach on fire… pain wrapping through him.

"Naruto… are you okay?" Sasuke asked, skidding to a halt next to Naruto. When the boy didn't reply, Sasuke was about to go and find Kakashi, but Naruto somehow managed to grab the Uchiha's shirt.

"Don't… worry about this," he rasped, trying to keep all the pain out of his voice. It wasn't working at all, to tell the truth. "It's nothing… just… give it a few minutes."

Sasuke looked at him incredulously.

Sure enough, after about five minutes of extreme pain, it went away. Naruto was used to this. The seal always acted up on his birthday – it was Kyuubi's personal birthday present to him. That was all just part of the Torture-Fest known as October 10th. Naruto stood up, his expressionless face back as he gazed coldly at Sasuke.

"What do you want?" the blonde asked, menace in his voice.

Sasuke didn't back down because of the threat that his rival's voice was implying. "I want to know what the hell is _wrong_ with you!" he growled.

"Didn't you here me before?" Naruto snapped. "This is the one _right_ day that I've had for _years_!"

Sasuke looked startled. "What do you mean?" he asked, a little concerned over Naruto's mental state.

"Look around you!" Naruto demanded. "What don't you see?"

Sasuke blinked. What was Naruto getting at? He was confused, and more than a little concerned now. He needed to get Naruto somewhere private – somewhere where Naruto could not run away from his questions.

"I don't see… Kakashi?" he guessed, though that was technically a lie, considering that the silver-haired jounin was across the street in the bookstore. His giggle could probably be heard all the way in the Wave Country.

"Wrong," Naruto said quietly, his anger dissipating. He shook his head… he was getting a migraine. "I'm going home. See ya 'round, Sasuke."

With that Naruto vanished.

Sasuke just grumbled incoherently to himself and made his way to Naruto's apartment. This was not turning out to be a good day for the Uchiha. First, Sakura basically kidnaps him and makes him go on the stupid ferris wheel. He hated ferris wheels! It was only because he was half asleep that she even _got_ him to go onto the damned thing.

And then he felt like he was about to fall out. That was Naruto jumping on top of the car. Then he had chanced the boy.

_I might as well finish this,_ he thought to himself, stopping in front of Naruto's door. Knowing that Naruto would probably _not_ let the Uchiha in, the normally stoic boy tried the door.

_Dobe_, he thought with a smirk as the orange door swung open. Sasuke stepped inside the dark apartment, closing the door behind him.

It actually wasn't that hard to find the blonde, Sasuke realized as he heard faint sounds. Not wanting to _think_ about what was happening, Sasuke followed the sounds. To his relief, Naruto wasn't… doing anything Kakashi would be very proud of. The boy was curled up in the corner of a very unfurnished bedroom. In fact, Sasuke noticed, eyes narrowing – it was even _more_ unfurnished than his own house and he only had the bare minimum. What Sasuke didn't know what that during the tight spots for cash, Naruto had to pawn some of his furniture, so now he was left with very little. The boy didn't even have a phone in the house.

"Naruto…?" Sasuke asked softly, so as not to startle the poor blonde who was sitting in the corner, looking out the window.

Naruto fumbled with something in his pocket and withdrew a carton of Newports and a lighter.

Here was another thing that no one knew. Uzumaki Naruto was heavily addicted to nicotine. He managed to hide it away most of the time – only smoking in the one place no one ever went – his apartment. But here someone was, in his apartment.

Naruto pulled out a lighter and lit up the end of the Newport, the filtered end balancing on his lip as he stuffed both lighter and cigarettes back in his pocket. So what if smoking wasn't legal for another two years? Legal shit had never stopped Uzumaki Naruto.

Sasuke gaped at him. "How long have you been smoking?" he wanted to know.

Naruto inhaled deeply, enjoying the slight high the quick inhale would give him. "Four years, give or take," he replied steadily, looking directly at Sasuke, gauging the boy's response.

Sasuke sat down on the floor. "Shit, I really don't know anything about you, do I?" he asked in a half-hearted way. This was the way it always was. In public, the two barely said two words to each other. When they were in private, they let _everything_ out.

"Dunno, maybe, maybe not," Naruto replied, not agreeing but not denying.

"What's gotten you so pissy today?" Sasuke asked, more blunt now that Naruto was actually talking back in a civilized voice.

"Nothing," Naruto said, taking another puff of the Newport as he gave Sasuke a vulpine grin. For some reason, that only pissed the Uchiha off more. Naruto concentrated on the cigarette, avoiding Sasuke's eyes as he twirled it around in his fingertips. Something was obviously bugging the blonde. Sasuke hadn't known Naruto for four years without being able to pick up some signals from his rival.

"Can't you tell me?" the Uchiha finally growled. "Or what? Do you _like_ fucking around with me? Do you like wallowing in your own fucking pity party! I remember you being the one who yelled at people for doing that shit. Don't tell me you're some kind of fucked up hypocrite."

Naruto sighed, flicking the ashes off the end of what he had named the "happy stick." He looked up at Sasuke. "What day is today?" he asked absently.

"The Celebration of the Defeat of Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Sasuke answered in a strange voice. Naruto inhaled again, another long drag of the cigarette. He blew out a smoke ring into the ceiling, watching the smoke dissipate.

The blonde smashed the butt of his cigarette into the hardwood floor of his apartment. He didn't care – it wasn't like he would be able to afford to stay here anyway and he had no money to give the landlord so he could possibly get away scot-free.

"Naruto, this isn't you!" Sasuke persisted.

Naruto smiled, a grim and completely un-Naruto smile. He let out a low, hollow laugh. "Really, Sasuke?" he asked. "And what do you know about me?"

Sasuke's resolve faltered, as he stared at the blonde.

Naruto wasn't finished though. "You just realized it, didn't you?" he sneered. "You know nothing!"

"That's not true!" Sasuke yelled back.

"All right then, let's have a little 'How Much Does Sasuke Know About Naruto' Quiz," he suggested in an icy tone. "First question, Uchiha, how old am I?"

"Fifteen," Sasuke answered.

"Wrong, I'm sixteen. Second Question: What's my favorite food?"

"Ramen."

"Wrong again, asshole. My favorite food is dango, okay? You're running out of chances, Uchiha."

Sasuke fumed, he had to get this last question right in this stupid little quiz or else Naruto… Naruto would be… lost.

"Third and final question, Uchiha-kun."

"Bring it!" Sasuke growled.

Naruto smirked.

"When's my birthday?"

Sasuke blinked. That was such an easy question. Naruto's birthday was… The Uchiha's eyes widened slightly as he realized he didn't know. In fact… nobody knew Naruto's birthday. He knew when Sakura was born (having being forced to go to her birthday party). Of course he knew when _he_ was born. Hell, Sasuke even knew when Kakashi was born. But he didn't know when Naruto was born.

"Time's up, Sasuke… what's your answer?" the blonde asked, lighting another cigarette. He stuffed the Newport 100 grand box back in his pocket with his lighter as he took a drag off the Newport.

Sasuke wondered how best to answer it. "I don't know," he finally admitted. Naruto sneered.

"Of course you don't," he said. "No one does… because no one's bothered to ask me."

"All right, then I'll ask you now," Sasuke said. "What's your birthday, Naruto?"

Naruto smirked at Sasuke's antics. This _was_ amusing, after all.

"Why do you care _now_ of all times, when such things no longer matter?" the blonde asked lazily.

The blonde stood up, sitting in the windowsill. In the distance, he could hear the merriment of the festival that was going on.

"Uchiha, why don't you go back to the festival?" he asked in a dead voice. "You seemed to be having so much fun with Haruno-san."

_Uchiha? _Sasuke questioned in his mind. _Haruno-san? Naruto… what's happened to you?_

"Not until you answer my question," Sasuke growled.

"All right, you want to know when my birthday is?" Naruto asked, not looking back at Sasuke.

"Yes."

"What would you do if I told you that my birthday is today?" was the soft reply he was given. Naruto still hadn't turned to look at Sasuke, leaving the Uchiha to only stare in shock at the lonely blond.

Today?

Of all days – Naruto's birthday was the same day that the Demon Fox had been sealed, sixteen years ago. Sasuke just stared at the blonde, not knowing what to say. He didn't even try to say anything, not until he could get his mind in order.

Naruto inhaled another lungful of smoke, exhaling it slowly through his nose.

"That surprised, Uchiha?" Naruto asked, his voice strained. Little did Sasuke know, Naruto was trying very, very hard not to cry. He was trying not to break. He wanted to. He wanted to curl up into the corner of his room, with a cigarette and a kunai and just kill himself slowly, through blood and tears – he just wanted to die.

But he couldn't be that petty.

He couldn't be a coward.

He was Uzumaki Naruto.

And he hated himself.

"Naruto…" Sasuke began, once he had finally figured out exactly what it was that he wanted to tell the boy. 

Naruto cut him off before he could do anything else. "Save it, Sasuke," he growled, his voice breaking. Tears fluttered down his cheeks. Naruto couldn't stop them. One hand was wrapped around his knees while the other hand casually flicked ashes off the end of the Newport.

"Just save it and go away," he murmured softly. Naruto's fist smashed the cigarette in his palm. His mind relished the burning pain that came with this act. He hated himself, so he wanted to scar himself – in the worst ways possible.

"I don't need your pity… I don't need anything…" he murmured softly to himself, trying to gain control once again, but something was stopping him from getting that control. He couldn't do anything – he couldn't do anything! Nothing at all.

His mind was a blank as he curled, sobs wracking his small body, clothed in black. He felt the jingling of silver bangles on his wrist.

"Naruto…" Sasuke started once more. Naruto had apparently lost all sense that he had been holding.

"Dammit!" he screamed. He cast a careless glance into the mirror in his room. Ripping one of the bangles off his wrist, the blonde threw it with all of his strength at his mirror. The glass surface shattered on impact, much like the reflective surface in the bathroom had done earlier.

Naruto slumped in the corner of his room, hands shaking, eyes unfocused. He had lost all control – and his conscious mind was far away. It was still there, still listening, but it held very little affect on his decisions. Instead, something else had taken control of him.

Naruto looked up with dead blue eyes. His skin was pale beneath the tan, and his expression was one of someone lost. His gaze was like that of someone who didn't know why they were alive – or what they were able to do with it.

"Go away, Sasuke."

"No."

"Why are you here?" sobbed the blonde. "Why won't you just listen to me and leave me alone? Why do you act like you care?" He put his head on his knees.

"Look!" Sasuke screamed, finally losing his calm. It scared him… this Naruto scared him. Naruto was always jumping for joy… was always smiling. To see Naruto like this… it hurt. It was scary. "I don't know why I care! I just do! Please… just pull yourself together Naruto! Tell me why you're like that!"

Sasuke didn't see Naruto look up at him. He couldn't read the emotion that took over the sixteen-year-old's gaze. He didn't know what he was doing as he kneeled in front of Naruto. He didn't realize what had happened until his lips met with Naruto's tasting the salty tears that had brushed them.

The kiss itself was chaste, close-mouthed, but it was the feelings _behind_ the kiss that actually mattered.

After a moment, Sasuke pulled back with his hand over his lips.

"I… I… forget about that, okay?" he asked softly, eyes avoiding Naruto's shocked expression.

"Whatever, Uchiha," Naruto said in a dead voice, wiping his eyes with his hands. "Everyone knows that you aren't gay or anything. And even if I _was_ a chick, you would probably never care to kiss me anyway."

Sasuke stared at the boy in disbelief. Just what was Naruto babbling about _now?_ It confused the Uchiha, though he wasn't entirely sure as to _why_ it confused him. His mind just passed it off under the ever unexplained category known as "Naruto" and left it at that.

Sasuke's cheeks colored when he realized that, without any warning, he had kissed Naruto… that was unlike him.

"Just cheer up, dobe, or else you'll get Iruka mad," Sasuke said to him, not knowing _why_ he _cared_ that the dobe was depressed.

"Sasuke… just… get the fuck out of my house," Naruto growled in a deathly quiet voice. His hard blue eyes stared at the Uchiha, hate coming out of them as well as pain, betrayal and anger. Sasuke couldn't look away, no matter how much he told himself that he wanted to.

"No," his mouth opened and responded to the blonde.

"Oh, _fun_, just make my birthday _worse_, you asshole," he growled. "It's bad enough that everyone didn't even notice that it was my birthday – but now I have to go and have a bastard bug me! I'm sick of it. I'm fucking sick of it. I'm…" His voice faltered for a second. "I'm leaving."

The blonde stood up. He tried to walk over to the door and leave – possibly forever when a hand clamped onto his wrist and yanked him backwards. Caught off balance, the blonde genin toppled onto Sasuke, sending them both to the ground. Naruto just conveniently landed on top of Sasuke.

The brunette winced as he felt Naruto's entire body weight hit his stomach. The blonde seemed to be surprised or stunned, for he didn't move. That was when Sasuke realized that the front of his shirt was damp.

Looking down, the Uchiha noticed that Naruto was _crying_ on his shirt. His ears picked up words that the boy was muttering.

"Damn you… damn you! Don't… don't you get it? I don't wanna be here anymore. I don't want to see _them_ anymore. I don't want to be here! I just want to be happy… is a little happiness so much to ask for? I don't know why… why… I've always been hated… I… just want to die…" The boy's voice trailed off as the sobs tore at his throat.

The heart-wrenching sounds touched even the stoic Uchiha Sasuke. Before he realized what he was doing, his arms encircled the blonde's abdomen, hugging him close to him. Naruto froze at the touch, obviously confused.

"Sa… suke?" he asked softly, his voice barely audible.

"Don't say that Naruto… don't say that," the brunette was muttering in the Kitsune-boy's ear. "You deserve to be happy… but I'm being selfish right now."

"H-how?"

"Because I want you to stay here with me."

"W-What?"

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, his cerulean eyes showing so many emotions. Sasuke felt his heart clench.

_Goddamit, what have I gotten myself into? Dammit!_ The boy cursed himself over and over in his head. He stared down, blue eyes clashing with his own black.

And something dawned on him.

Naruto had really pretty eyes.

Blue like the summer sky, with no clouds wafting across it. Just a clear expanse of the sky, making him want to run and to fly. He always envied the birds that flew on those days. He had wanted to be a bird – he had wanted to fly away with them across that blue horizon.

Sasuke took a deep breath. "You have… really pretty eyes," he whispered to the blonde. Naruto tilted his head to the side, brow furrowed as though he were really confused. But Sasuke didn't say anymore.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke through tear-filled eyes, feeling the arms around him. He felt warm… and safe and he never wanted to move. He would do anything for Sasuke at this moment. He would. Sasuke, without realizing it, had given Naruto the greatest birthday gift the boy could ever hope for. He had given Naruto someone who would be there for him when he broke down.

Naruto snuggled into Sasuke's chest, his tears not stopping, but they were no longer tears of sadness. Rather, they were tears of happiness.

A faint whisper echoed through the room, but Naruto missed it.

"Hn?" he asked softly.

"Where do you want to go for your birthday?" Sasuke asked in a soft, soothing voice.

Naruto looked up at the boy in wonder. "A-Are you s-sure?" he stammered, afraid that the dream he was having would shatter. That's all this could be… a dream. Sasuek wasn't this nice.

He wasn't like this. Sasuke was normally mean and evil… and Naruto couldn't deal with that. He didn't want to wake up. He didn't want to face reality.

Sasuke nodded. "Yeah, my treat, dobe," he replied.

"I-I don't know anywhere… y-you choose," Naruto muttered back, blushing furiously. Sasuke could only see the tinge of red the lighted up the boy's ears. He gave a warm laugh at this, which had Naruto staring at him, mouth agape.

"What?" Sasuke asked, shifting under the boy.

"You… laughed," Naruto said, as though struck dumb for a moment. "You… never laugh."

"Baka, and you never cry," Sasuke told him, gently wiping the tear streaks away with his hands. "So let's just leave it at that for the moment, all right?"

Naruto nodded, not really knowing what to say. He couldn't believe it. Not five minutes ago, he was yelling at the Uchiha – telling him to get away and right now, he was clinging to Sasuke.

And Sasuke was hugging him back.

It made Naruto feel special, warm and fluffy all at once. He stared at Sasuke. "Do you know where we should go?" he asked softly.

Sasuke thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, get up… 'cause I can't move with you on top of me."

Naruto nodded and stood up, wiping his eyes on his shirt. "S-sorry you had to see me… like this," he said in a quiet voice, blushing furiously. He hated to apologize – especially to Sasuke of all people.

"Cute," Sasuke murmured to him as he picked himself up off the floor.

"What's cute?" Naruto yelled furiously. He hated being called "cute," which Iruka did often. He thought it made him sound as though he were three.

Sasuke came over and pressed his forehead against the blonde's. "You," he answered with a sly grin. "Now come on… its still early, we can beat the rush!"

Sasuke latched onto the blonde's wrist and pulled him out of his apartment. "Whoa, hold on Sasuke!" Naruto yelped as he was being dragged down the main street. Sasuke stopped and turned around to Naruto.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Do you really… want to be seen with me?" Naruto asked.

"Dobe, why wouldn't I be?" he asked. "Now come on!"

Naruto stayed silent as Sasuke pulled him along towards the restaurant. It was pretty high class and Naruto felt really… out of place in his goth/punk garb. He stood behind Sasuke like a shadow as Sasuke waited for a person to come and escort them to a table.

"Yes, how many are in your party?" a waitress asked.

"Two," the Uchiha replied.

The waitress picked up two menus and gestured towards them. "Come with me," she said.

They followed her. Naruto felt more and more uncomfortable by the second. He had never come here before in his life. It always seemed so… so fancy and he didn't do well in fancy environments. Especially when said fancy environment happened to want you to act a certain way. Naruto never learned anything about table manners except how to hold chopsticks and that took him a while because his caretaker had refused to teach him. Instead, they had laughed whenever he failed. That, Naruto supposed, thinking back, was the first time he truly hated someone.

He had shown his rage back then. Nowadays, he was able to hide it behind his mask. His mask was everything to him. Already, his color was returning from the breakdown twenty minutes before. He was very adept at switching from True Naruto to Fake Naruto in mere seconds.

They were led to a secluded booth. Naruto sat on one side and Sasuke on the other side. The waitress, a pretty woman with brown hair and brown eyes, gave them their menus.

"Now, what can I get you two to drink?" she asked.

Naruto looked at Sasuke helplessly. "A kettle of green tea with two cups," he answered, blushing slight at the grateful glance he got from the blonde.

"How do you know about this place?" Naruto asked, craning his head around to get a full view of all that was here.

Sasuke smiled sadly. "My parents used to take me and Itachi here… a lot, when we were younger," he said in a strained voice. He looked like he was on the verge of both crying and picking up the table and massacring everyone in the place. Naruto hoped that neither of those two outcomes would come true.

"Oh, I'm… I didn't mean to…" Naruto fidgeted slightly with the cloth napkin on his place, staring down at his hands like a shy schoolgirl. He didn't know what to say. Normally, his mask enabled him to never shut up – but he couldn't speak properly anymore, it was like… everything was gone for him. Sasuke had seen who he really was.

Sasuke had seen him cry.

Naruto hid his face in his hands. Sure, _while_ it was happening, the boy had been happy. Now that it was _over_ and Naruto was normal again, he felt stupid. He wished that today hadn't happened. He wished that…

"Naruto?" Sasuke asked, interrupting the blonde's train of thought.

"Huh? What?" Naruto asked, looking around wildly.

"Aren't you going to look at your menu?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto blushed, nodding, as he picked up the menu. Looking through it, he tried to decipher the kanji that was written. Unfortunately… Naruto had never really been taught how to read. He could pretty much read and write his own name… and that was about all.

He bit his lip as he realized how embarrassing it was going to be… with him not even able to read his menu. Sighing, Naruto pretended to be intently studying the kanji as he stared above the menu at Sasuke.

"Something wrong, Naruto?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Naruto "eep"ed as he hid his horribly red face behind the menu. He shook his head. Sasuke could only tell that the movement happened from the whirling of the spikes over the top of the menu.

"So, what can I get you?" the waitress had returned with their kettle and green tea.

Sasuke ordered his food and the waitress wrote it down. Both of them turned to look at the blonde.

"And what would you like?" she asked the blonde genin.

Naruto mumbled something. The waitress leaned closer. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't hear you."

"I can't read," Naruto said a little bit louder. He put the menu down, avoiding the looks he got from both Sasuke and the waitress. "I don't know what this thing says."

Naruto purposely looked elsewhere as the other two sat in silence. The waitress smiled kindly. She was his age, so she knew nothing of what was inside of him.

"Hey, what kind of food do you like, though?" she asked.

"Um… I don't know," Naruto mumbled, shifting in his seat. "I like dango… but that's a snack. And I like Tempura, just with no veggies, and I like gyoza and teriyaki."

"Ah, I see," the waitress replied. "Well, first things first. You will get miso soup, because that's just how things go here. And I really recommend the gyoza here. It's really good. The tempura's so-so. I really shouldn't be saying this, but they could really do better with their tempura. Anyway, so how does that sound to you?"

Naruto nodded. "That sounds good," he said with a smile. The waitress bowed and walked away.

Sasuke stared at Naruto, making the boy uncomfortable. "I didn't know you couldn't read," he said in a flat voice.

Naruto avoided his eyes. "Well… the world already thinks I'm a huge moron, its better if I keep my true idiocy to myself."

"So how did you pass the Academy's written exams?"

"I didn't."

"Then how come you're a ninja?"

"I was able to learn Kage Bunshin."

"Oh."

Naruto stared at Sasuke. "Can we change the subject… please?" he pleaded. His illiteracy was a touchy subject for him. He didn't like talking about it.

Sasuke seemed to realize Naruto's discomfort. "Sorry," he said.

"It's okay… it's just… well, y'know… it's kinda not a great subject for me to talk about," Naruto told him, trying to pass it off as a joke or something.

Sasuke stared at him harshly and Naruto dropped the act sheepishly.

The two finished their meal, exchanging pleasant conversation. They got daifuku for desert and then left the restaurant, Sasuke paying the bill.

* * *

"So, where do you want to go now, dobe?" Sasuke asked as they just perused the stalls that were open. It was early evening and the sun was just beginning to set, the sky darkening in the east. 

"I don't know," Naruto mumbled. He had never really "hung out" before so he was at loss for what they could do.

All of the sudden, a couple of drunken fools bumped into Sasuke and Naruto. Before anything could be done to stop them, one of them grabbed Naruto's hair. The boy winced at the movement but Sasuke was more worried by the fact that the blonde did nothing to pull away from it.

"Look what we have here, Aoki-kun," one of them said. "We gots ourselves a demon fox."

Naruto paled even more so that he already had and somehow managed to dislodge the man's fingers from his golden tresses. "I-I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto said fearfully, every so often glancing in the confused Uchiha's directions.

"O' course ya do," Aoki snarled. "Yer the damned fox what attacks our village sixteen years ago. Yer just a punk, ya ain't even got nofin – fucking monster."

Naruto felt his muscles tense, but he didn't attack. He had promised Tsunade that he wouldn't attack villagers because of Kyuubi. However, it stung. Each word was like a slap in the face for the poor blonde.

"Naruto…?" Sasuke questioned. Naruto jumped, startled. He had completely forgotten about Sasuke being there. "What are they talking about?"

"Ye dunno, do ye?" Aoki's friend asked, looking at the Uchiha. "This monster 'ere is nun odda then Kyuubi no Kitsune – just a beast." The man kicked dirt on Naruto. Naruto blocked it from getting in his eyes, but he closed his mouth a second too late and choked a little on some of the dust that flew down his throat.

"Ye mangy beast!" Aoki yelled, eyes burning in rage. "I'll kill ye!"

Sasuke jumped on the attack as Aoki got ready to slop some of his drink on Naruto. It surprised him when Naruto held him back. The half-glass of sake splashed on the blonde. Naruto shook his hair, trying not to get the drink in his eyes.

Slowly, the blonde pulled his friend away from the two drunks.

Sasuke finally pushed Naruto against a tree, his eyes harsh. "Naruto – what the fuck was that all about?" he growled.

Naruto looked away, avoiding Sasuke's eyes. "It was nothing, Sasuke… just forget about it," he murmured to the boy.

But Sasuke didn't want to forget about it.

"Naruto… tell me, please!" Sasuke murmured.

Naruto sighed. "What's today?" he asked. "And this doesn't have anything to do with my birthday – well, not this part."

"Celebration for the Defeat of the Kyuubi no Kitsune?" Sasuke ventured.

Naruto nodded. "Do you know what happed to Kyuubi?" he wanted to know.

"No… I heard that Yondaime killed him."

"Her… Kyuubi's a she… and Yondaime didn't kill her… he _sealed_ her… inside me," Naruto said slowly. He choked over a few of the words.

Sasuke's eyes widened, but then he just smirked. "And?" he asked.

"And… don't you have anything to say about it! Like how I'm a fucking beast and monster and everything else that _everyone_ has been telling me since the day I was born," Naruto yelled.

"That doesn't matter to me," Sasuke said, pressing his forehead against Naruto's and staring directly at those heavenly blue eyes. "You're Naruto, not Kyuubi. But I don't know Naruto. I want to get to know Naruto." He smiled softly. "The real Naruto. The one I saw tonight… not every other day."

Naruto was surprised when he heard this, to say the least. He didn't think that anyone could like him for who he really was, and here someone liked him for who he actually was.

"Besides," Sasuke said, looking at the boy. "It's better to be yourself than hide behind a mask."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Don't be a hypocrite, asshole," he grumbled softly.

Sasuke grinned, a true smile – the first one. "I am me," he replied.

"No you're not."

"All right, then," Sasuke challenged, looking into his eyes. "From tomorrow on – I challenge you to be yourself!"

"Fine!" Naruto shot back before he knew what he was saying. "And I challenge _you_ to be _Sasuke_, not Uchiha-asshole!"

Sasuke chuckled at this comment. "Deal, we'll see who can last longer without a mask."

"It will definitely be me who wins this challenge!"

Sasuke ruffled the boy's hair good-naturedly. "You sure about that, dobe?" he wanted to know. He crossed his arms as he walked Naruto home.

"Yeah!" Naruto yelled, obviously out of his earlier funk.

Sasuke just grinned at him. Maybe… with this new, true Naruto… maybe Sasuke wouldn't be alone as much anymore. Maybe the boy could even _love_ the blonde.

Who knew? Only time could tell the answer to that mystery.

* * *

_Kyuubi-kun's Korner!_

_Dear fucking god… this took me so fucking long to write. Special thanks to Ookima for just reading it before I posted it so that I made sure it was good. Also, I thank Nazo for giving me all the Japanese foods and her personal review on taste when I came across the dinner part. I love both of you! Thanks so much! AND NEITHER OF YOU FORGET YOUR DEADLINES! _

_This is a one-shot. The outcome of the challenge? That's for each and every person to decide for themselves… not for me. I liked this. And I thank both Ookima and Nazo once again for betaing this for me. Nazo, thanks for enlightening me on what clichés were. Ookima, thanks for helping me get off my lazy ass and actually complete this. And yeah, just thanks to the both of you for helping me. _

_So I suppose, this fic is dedicated to Ookima and Nazo. ((GLOMPS)) Love ya two!_


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